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December 05, 2006
China Syndrome
by Peter Pitts
"Drug Pirates Leave Death in their Wake." So reads the headline from the Guardian (of London). It's the most recent report of China's role in the growing global threat of counterfeit medicines -- and it's nothing short of international health care terrorism.
Some relevant snippets:
* Last month Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, revealed that fake birth control pills and HIV retroviral drugs from China had been seized by European customs officers.
* According to Mr. Mandelson, half of all counterfeit pharmaceuticals found inthe EU originate in China.
* The article cites the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest report to the effect that that global sales of counterfeit drugs will reach $75bn (£38bn) in 2010 - an increase of more than 90% from 2005.
* Henk Bekedam, representative for WHO in Beijing, said, "Fake drugs are a global problem and there is no reason to believe China is an exception. Piracy is a disease ... we need to report on it, find out where it is coming from, and go and deal with it."
Here's a link to the complete article:
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1963095,00.html
And the closing sentence of the story is worth sharing:
"The worst consequences will be a lot more serious than erectile dysfunction."
Posted by Peter Pitts at December 5, 2006 11:44 AM
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